The Craving of a Simple Burger Needs to be Filled

The Burger.

It’s a huge comfort food for a lot of people. Some people go to your local fast food spot and fill the burger shaped hole in your world and some will go crazy finding the finest ingredients to make a hyper specialized burger that is over complicated. I wrestled with how I was going to approach my first burger post (believe me there will be more). Was I going to grind my own chuck? Was I going to get insane seasoning and weird toppings that seem virtually insane? No, I wanted a simple burger, something people get wrong all the time. So, this is it, My Simple Burger.

The Start.

I didn’t want to get fancy using insane meat combinations or getting my own meat and grinding it down and going through the labor of love to make my own chopped meat. I went simple. You don’t want pre-formed burgers, not because of the quality of meat, but because of the size of the burgers. They shrivel up and become little tiny sad hockey pucks. I want you to pick up some chopped meat, 80/20 is my go-to. It’s fatty and that is important for the flavor of the burger. This is a simple burger people, we aren’t looking for a dietary out of ultra lean beef or other meat that can be used, we want a burger that fills our burger needs.

2 pounds of 80/20 Chuck Beef formed into 4 burgers. You do the math. Season with Salt and Pepper outside, and DO NOT season internally.

You get 2 pounds of 80/20 Chuck. Form it into 4 burgers. And then you do the most crucial part. Season them.

Are you ready for this?

Salt.

Pepper.

Done.

You only season the outside of the burgers ONLY, the salt gives you a crust when you cook them and the pepper gives a little kick. We aren’t here to get “INSANE FLAVORS” or “UMAMI”. You are here to get a burger that tastes like the best burger you’ve ever had. Like I said, I wanted Simple. This is as simple as it gets.

The Cook.

If it’s not grilling season you can pan fry it, but sometimes you can get a grill pan for the cold winter or rainy days during the summer. I have a grill pan and it works wonders. Just get it nice and hot, medium high is good if your cooking in the house. You really won’t have to oil the pan, but you can do a light spray of cooking oil of some sort if you really want, the fat in the burger will take care of it though.

Look at these patties, they are huge, and sizzling away.

You may be wondering, “Those are huge, how the hell can you cook something like that? You’re gross!”

This is making burgers for 4 people. This isn’t for just me, a lot of people will cook burgers and make 8 or 10 hockey pucks that are burnt to a crisp with no flavor and they load up their buns with 2 or 3 of those burgers and smother them in toppings and sauces. The burger is an after thought at that point. Here, the Burgers are the stars.

So, you’ve had these burgers on the grill for about 6 or 7 minutes, and I hope you didn’t move them, they needed to stay put for that 7 minutes. Only then should you be flipping them. ONE TIME.

You aren’t cooking on an open flame, this is a flat cooking surface with evenly distributed heat. Let that work for you.

Flip them and see the work of that magic heat.

It’s got the crust, it’s sealing in juices, it’s soft and tender in the middle, this is shaping up to be the burger you desired!

You know you’re good to go. You’re going to want to fight the urge to move that burger around and you will want to have this burger cook for another 7 minutes frying away. Remember these aren’t tiny little burgers, these are big half pound dinner burgers.

You are getting to the homestretch, some people like cheese on their burgers, some don’t. With about 1 minute to go, this is what you do. Don’t be afraid to slap your slice or two of cheese if you want. Your house is probably smelling like a burger joint by now.

So, you probably have a fridge full of condiments and things to put on a burger.

You don’t need them.

I promise you.

You want the burger not a ketchup and meat sandwich.

The Finish.

I’ll want a few rings of red onion, some spicy pickle chips, and a slice of tomato. There is just enough flavor to play in the background, but nothing to over power your half pound beef burger cooked to medium / medium rare on a fresh kaiser roll or other bun of your choosing. You’re going to be satisfied and I don’t need to put the recipe of this burger on the page. It’s so simple to remember.